Feeding device for concrete-mixers.



PATENTED MAR. 5, 1907.

No. 845,990. f

R. WILCOX. EEEDING DEVICE ECR CONCRETE MIXERS.

APPLICATION FILED JALB, 1906.

2 SHEETS-SHEET l.

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PATENTED MAE. 5, 1907.

E. WILGOX.

PEEDING DEVICE EUR CONCRETE MXERS.

APPLICATION FILED JAN. 8, 1906.

2 SHEETS-SHEET Z.

UNITED STATES OFEIOE.

RAY WILCOX, OF DETROIT, MICHIGAN, ASSIGN OR OF ONE-HALF TO CHARLES R.WALLACE, OF JACKSON, MICHIGAN.

FEEDING DEVICE FOR CONCRETE-MIXERS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented March 5, 1907.

Application filed January/,8, 1906. Serial No. 295,063.

l'o all whom 'llt may concern;

Be it known that I, RAY WILooX, a citizen of the United States ofAmerica, residing at Detroit, in the county of INayne and State ofMichigan, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in FeedingDevices for Concrete-Mixers, of which the following is a specification,reference being had therein to the accompanying drawings.

My invention relates to new and useful improvements in cement-mixers,and consists in a novel construction and arrangement of parts, as willbe more fully hereinafter described, and set forth in the claims.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a side elevation. Fig. 2 is an endelevation of my cementmixer, and Fig. 3 is a plan view of the mixer withaportion broken away to show the construction.

A is a frame preferably mounted on wheels A and carries in theupper-portion cement and sand hoppers B and C, respectively. Thesehoppers are-preferably trough-shaped and open at one end, through whichthey feed by means of screw conveyers C, mounted on a shaft (J2 in thesand-hopper, and B, mounted on shaft B2 in the cement-hopper.

Shafts B2 C2 are jounaled in and project beyond the frame, and on theends proj ecling beyond theforward end of the frame are slidingly keyedor splined the grooved collars b c, carrying lugs b c', respectively,said lugs being adapted to engage lugs b2 c2, respectively, on sprocketsB3 C, which are sleeved on the shafts.

D and E are buckets or weighing-receptacles mounted on arms D and E',pivoted at of and e on the frame and carrying counterweights D2 E2,respectively. The tilting of the buckets on the pivots is limited by thebars a a of the frame, acting as stops to engage the arms D E', and thecounterweights are adjustable longitudinally of said arms by means ofset-screws d2 e2.

The bottoms of the buckets D E are hinged at F G, respectively, andprovided with arms F G, to which are pivoted toggles comprising membersfj and g g', the members of each toggle h: ving their ends pivotallvconnected at f2 g2 and intermediate points f3 g3 on the members j" gbeing pivoted on the buckets D E, respectively. The free end of member goverlaps the free end of f and the pivot-pin of the connection g2projects sufficiently to engage a depending V-shaped bracket G2 on theframe A, for a purpose which will be more fully hereinafter described.

On the upper portions of the forward ends of the buckets D E are lugs HJ respectively. These Alugs are pivotally connected, by means of linksIt j, with the lower ends of the bellcrank levers H J, pivoted inbrackets h y" on the frame A, and the upper ends of these levers engagein the grooves h2 of the collars b c, respectively. WV hen thebucketsvare tilted by a weight of material overbalancing thecounterweights, they Awill act, through the links and bell-crank levers,to slide the collars b c longitudinally of the shafts, and thus draw thelugs on the collars out of engagement with the lugs on the sprockets.

The buckets are mounted below the feeding ends of their respectivehoppers and directly above a V shaped receptacle K, through which passesa shaft K', carrying a screw conveyor lc. The shaft K is ournaled on theframe A, and on its projecting end is mounted a sprocket k, While itsother end is secured in a spider-frame K2, secured in themixing-cylinder L. This mixing-cylinder is provided withinwardly-projecting studs or vanes l, and the forward end is partiallyclosed by the annular flange L', the rear end being left open andunobstructed for the removal of the mixed cement. rIhe cylinder L ispreferably supported at the front end by the shaft K and at the rear endby rollers L2, suitably journaled in the frame A.

Secured to the frame in the rear of the cement and sand hoppers is awater-tank M, near which proj ects the rear end of the shaft C2. On thisshaft is a crank M', connected to the plunger M2 of the pump m, whichconnects with the tank. A pipe N, terminating in a suitable spray-nozzleN in the mixingcylinder, leads from this pump and positively feeds waterto thc mixture in proportion to the feed from the hopper C.

O is a bracket mounted on the frame, and in this bracket is journaled astub-shaft O', carrying a sprocket O2 and a hand-crank o,

or, if desired, a suitable connection may be made from this shaft to anysource of power,

and a chain P engages this sprocket and sprockets lc', B3, and U.

Having thus described the construction of my device, the operation is asfollows: Cement and sand being placed in the respective hoppers and thepower applied to chain P, the cement and sand is fed into the buckets.When the predetermined amount of cement is fed into the bucket D, theweight D2 will be oyerbalanced and the bucket tilted su'l'liciently todisengage lugs b b2, thereby stopping the feed from the hopper B. A'.lhe hopper C continues feeding until the predetermined amount of sandis deposited in bucket l, which then tilts and cuts off the feed fromthe hopper C. The pivotal points of the toggles connected to thebucket-bottoms are thus held raised until the tilting of bucket irl. lntilting, the pin of connection g'2J is engaged by the bracket G2, andthis point is thus pulled out of line, allowing the toggles to flex andthe bottom to swing open. rlhe overlapping end of the member g thenstrikes the end of member f and throws out of line the toggles on thevbucket D and its bottom swings open. The contents of the buckets arethus dumped into the receptacle K and partially mixed while being fedinto the cylinder L, where the mixing is completed and the requisiteamount of water is supplied. The empty buckets are returned to normalposition by the counterweights, and the bottoms of the buckets arereturned by springs S, suitably connected to lugs R on the sides of thebuckets and lugs T on the edges of the bottoms.

' it is obvious that the tilting buckets with hinged bottoms may beemployed and that other feeding means and forms of hoppers andreceptacles may be employed without departing from the scope of myinvention.

-`What l claim isy 1. in a cement-mixer, the combination with acement-hopper, a sand-hopper, and feed mechanisms for said hoppers, of amixing-receptacle, tiltingly-balanced weighingbuckets for said hoppersintermediate said hoppers and said receptacle, means operated by thetilting of said buckets for automatically stopping said feed mechanisms,means operated by the tilting of one bucket for emptying both bucketsand means operating on the emptying of said buckets for returning themto their original positions.

2. ln a cement-mixer, the combination with a cement-hopper, asand-hopper, feeding means for each of said hoppers, and amixing-receptacle, of a tilting weighingbucket for each hopperintermediate said hoppers and said rece taele, means whereby apredetermined weig it of material in one of said buckets will cause atilting thereof, and connections whereby said tilting will stop the feedto said buckets, means whereby a preseaaeo determined weight of materialin the second bucket will tilt the bucket and stop the feed thereto, andmeans operated by the tilting of said second bucket for emptying bothVbuckets.

3. In a cement-mixer, the combination with a pair of weighing-buckets, amixingreceptacle into which said buckets are adapted to empty, hoppersfor saidbuckets, and feeding means for each hopper each adapted to feedinto one of said buckets, break-joint toggle-lever connections forholding said buckets in their normal positions, connecting means wherebya predetermined weight of material in one of said buckets will permit aslight tilting thereof, connections whereby said slight tilting will cutoil the feed to said buckets, means whereby a predetermined weight ofmaterial in said second bucket will cut off the feed thereto, and meansfor emptying both buckets operated by the tilting of said second bucket.

4. in a cement-mixer, the combination with cement and sand hoppers,feeding means therein and a mixing-receptacle, of buckets intermediatesaid hoppers and receptacle, of supporting means for said bucketspermitting the tilting of the buckets by the deposit of a predeterminedweight of material therein, means operated by the tilting of saidbuckets for cutting off said feeding means, hinged bottoms for saidbuckets, means operated by the tilting of one of said buckets forswinging said bottoms on their hinges, and means for returning saidbottoms to their normal positions.

5. ln a cement-mixer the combination with a plurality of hoppers, abucket for each hopper, means for feeding materials from said hoppersinto said buckets and a mixingrecepta'cle into which said buckets areadapted to empty, of supporting means for said buckets permitting atilting of each bucket on the deposit of a predetermined weight ofmaterial therein, means operated by said tilting for cutting off thefeed to said bucket and means operated by the tilting of one bucket foremptying all the buckets, for the purpose described.

6. in a cement-mixer, the combination with a plurality of buckets, meansfor feeding materials thereto and a mixing-receptacle into which saidbuckets are adapted to empty, of supporting means for said bucketspermitting a predetermined weight of material in each bucket to tiltsaid bucket, means o erated by the tilting of each bucket to out o f thefeed thereto, means operated by the tilting of the last bucket foremptying all thel buckets and means for returning the empty buckets totheir normal position and restarting the feed thereto, for the purposedescribed.

7. in a cement-mixer, the combination ICO lIO

with a plurality of hoppers and' means for l eelding dmaterlstlerlefron, of la tiltirlglyin presence of tWo Witnesses.

a ance Wei 'n uc (et or eac o er, a. miJdng-recepgiacleg for receivingthe piiiate- RAY WILCOX 5 rials from said buckets and means operatedWitnesses:

by the tilting of one bucket vfor emptying l CAMERON B. WATERMAN bothbuckets, substantially as described. JAMES P. BARRY.

In testimony whereof I aiiix my signature

